The Lord is My Shepherd

✨

The Lord is my Shepherd, June 28, 2026 Sermon by Abbie Gardner

In just a few short weeks, our church begins Vacation Bible School. The church will be transformed into green pastures and still waters - because this year’s theme is based on one of the most beloved passages in all of Scripture: Psalm 23.

Many of us learned these words as children: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. We hear this Psalm at funerals, during difficult seasons, and in moments when we need comfort. We find peace and comfort in it because it is about guidance. It is about a Shepherd who leads His sheep. It is about a God who doesn't leave His people to wander alone.

Who helped you hear the voice of God? Maybe it was a Sunday school teacher. A grandparent. A pastor, youth leader, a sibling, or a friend. Most of us can point to someone who helped guide us toward Jesus.

There are children coming to VBS, coming to our church, making the choice to confirm their faith in God. And they need shepherds. They need people who will help them hear God's voice. They need people who will help them discover who God created them to be.

In 1 Samuel 3, we meet a young boy named Samuel. One night Samuel heard his name being called. "Samuel! Samuel!" Thinking it was Eli, he ran to him. Three times this happened. Finally, Eli realized that it was God calling the boy. So Eli said: "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'"

Samuel heard God's voice because someone older, wiser, and faithful helped him recognize it. Imagine if Eli had said: That's not my problem. You’re too young. Someone else can deal with it. No. Eli stopped what he was doing and mentored the child God had placed in his responsibility.

Friends, there are Samuels all around us. They are in our children's ministry. They are in our youth group. They are sitting beside us in worship. Some of them are hearing God's voice for the very first time. Some of them are wondering how God could ever use them. Some of them don't even know how to pray yet.

They need people who will say: Let me help you listen. Let me teach you. Let me walk with you. Because that's what shepherds do.

Years later, God called Samuel to do something important. God sent him to the house of Jesse. There he found a young shepherd boy named David. David wasn't the oldest. He wasn't the strongest. Nobody expected much from him. In fact, his own family didn't even invite him to the sacrifice. Yet Samuel continued his mission to anoint David. And it was so.

Can you imagine that moment? A young shepherd boy being told that God had a purpose for his life. Someone saw what God had placed inside him. Someone believed in him. Someone called out his potential.

Samuel had once been guided by Eli. Now Samuel was guiding David. This is how faith is passed down. One generation pours into the next. This is how our faith has lasted for centuries.

David went on to do incredible things. He defeated Goliath. He became king. He united a nation. He wrote many of the Psalms that still encourage us today - including Psalm 23.

But here's something to remember: Before David was a king… before he was a giant slayer… before he wrote songs that would comfort people for thousands of years… he was simply a young shepherd boy. And someone invested in him. Someone believed that God could use him.

We never know what God may do through the children sitting among us. The child coloring in the pew today may become a missionary. The little boy singing VBS songs this week may become a pastor. The shy girl in Sunday school may become a teacher who changes lives. The child running through the yard may someday lead others to Christ. We don't know what mighty things God has planned. But we do know this: God often uses ordinary people who had someone believe in them.

David wrote: "The Lord is my shepherd." David understood shepherding because he had lived it. A shepherd protects. A shepherd guides. A shepherd provides. A shepherd stays with the sheep. And God calls His people to reflect His heart. We cannot save anyone. Only Jesus can do that. But we can point people toward the Shepherd. We can guide. We can encourage. We can mentor. We can pray. We can make room for children and young people to discover God's calling on their lives.

As we begin VBS here shortly, I want to remind us that raising children in faith isn't just the responsibility of parents. It's the responsibility of the entire church. And it takes a church family to raise disciples. The children of this church need more than teachers. They need spiritual grandparents. They need encouragers. They need prayer warriors. They need people who know their names. They need people who cheer them on. They need people who tell them: You matter.  God has a purpose for you. You are loved. The Lord is your Shepherd.

Maybe today God is asking you to be an Eli for someone. Maybe He's asking you to be a Samuel and pour into the next generation. Maybe He's calling you to pray for our children and youth in a new way.

Because somewhere among the children who will walk through our doors here soon may be another David. A future leader. A future servant. A future world changer.

And they need someone to help them hear the Shepherd's voice. And even if they aren’t going to be as mighty and as powerful as David, we need to be forming up disciples who are after God’s heart.

In Acts 13 verse 22: it says that God raised up David as their king and testified about him, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will.’

Rennerdale Church, I know you are a church capable of shepherding. Because you have already raised up many disciples. You have raised up many leaders in God’s Kingdom. You have done this by being your real authentic selves and being a family together.

May we continue to be a church that says: Speak, Lord, your servants are listening. And may we help the next generation hear that same voice and follow wherever the Good Shepherd leads.